Heavy Athletics: lifting with at-risk youth

Changing lives one rep at a time

Heavy Athletics helps incarcerated youth fulfill their potential, both physically and mentally, through Olympic weightlifting. Volunteer coaches work with incarcerated 12 to 18-year-olds six days a week, 52 weeks a year, in Oregon. They train, have meets, and sometimes take competitors to the next level of competition on the outside and then back in again as mentors.

Heavy Athletics is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) Olympic Weightlifting training program at the John Serbu Juvenile Justice Center in Eugene, Oregon. The program was founded in 2001 by two-time National Olympic Weightlifting Champion and American Record Holder, Tom Hirtz.

"Each member of the Heavy Athletics program believes that heartfelt positive reinforcement from a trusted coach can make difference in thriving and surviving in the juvenile justice system."

What a great and unique thing. This strikes me as pure altruism borne of deep thought and personal philosophy. The fact that they have six coaches who do this year-round on a volunteer basis is impressive.

Records are for glory, lifting is for life

You can read the stats to see how people perform in their sports, but I'm more taken by deeper contexts that show who a person is through his sport. That's a complicated concept to explain, but this site has a lovely example; check out the deep moments from jail... my kind of poetry in the rough.

"We have found that Olympic style weightlifting, which requires timing, coordination and courage, is about a lot more than just how much weight we can get a kid to lift; it's about what a kid becomes as a result of lifting that weight," (presumably a Tom Hirtz quote).

Every little bit helps this kind of specialized program. To make a donation, visit the site or contact Heavy Athletics at (541) 953-7946.

the narcissist movement

Five psychologists have spent a few years looking at the fall out from the "self-esteem movement" that rose in the 1980s. They assert that the effort to build self-confidence has gone too far, and produced a population of narcissists. As entertaining as narcissism can be to onlookers with a sense of irony, they lay out the damage: "narcissists tend to lack empathy, react aggressively to criticism and favor self-promotion over helping others." Narcissists are "more likely to have romantic relationships that are short-lived, at risk for infidelity, lack emotional warmth, and to exhibit game-playing, dishonesty, and over-controlling and violent behaviors." Plus, their sense of reality is whacked.

In the study, they asked American college students for responses to "If I ruled the world, it would be a better place," "I think I am a special person" and "I can live my life any way I want to."

"We need to stop endlessly repeating 'You're special' and having children repeat that back," said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. "Kids are self-centered enough already."

The AP article is really interesting, with many points that could be explored and debated, and the study is sure to fuel some fires. It's Study: Vanity on the rise among college students

Female Athlete Triad

There's a disorder for that...
This is from an article on the teens section of kidshealth.org. Good awareness raising, guys. I like that the preamble asserts the benefits of exercise instead of just launching into the doom-and-gloom. Of course, this problem isn't limited to youngsters. I knew a climber (30's) who hadn't had a period in a decade.

What is Female Athlete Triad?

Sports and exercise are part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Girls who play sports are healthier; get better grades; are less likely to experience depression; and use alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs less frequently than girls who aren't athletes. But for some girls, not balancing the needs of their bodies and their sports can have major consequences.

Some girls who play sports or exercise intensely are at risk for a problem called female athlete triad. Female athlete triad is a combination of three conditions: disordered eating, amenorrhea (pronounced: ay-meh-nuh-ree-uh, which means loss of a girl's period for 3 or more months), and osteoporosis (pronounced: oss-tee-oh-puh-row-sis, meaning a weakening of the bones). A female athlete can have one, two, or all three parts of the triad.

remaking teens: shock treatment, NY Times, new book on trauma

Here are some updates related to the troubled-teen industry - a news update on a publicly funded program administering electric shocks to teens for things like swearing; and what champion expose journalist Maia Szalavitz is up to now.

Maia Szalavitz ("Help At Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids" Riverhead, 2006 ) wrote an op-ed which appeared Sunday in the New York Times City Section regarding "aversive" tough-love therapies for kids.

New York State has been sending children to a Massachusetts program that uses electric shocks delivered to the skin as "therapy;" it has also been paying for some teens with learning disabilities and emotional problems to attend the Elan School in Maine.

Elan is best known for its humiliating and confrontational tactics, including, until recently, forcing teens to fight fresh opponents with boxing gloves in a tactic known as "the ring" until they submit to the school's demands.

An article Maia wrote on the troubled teen industry appears in Reason here: http://www.reason.com/news/show/117088.html

Also, this month Maia's new book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook: What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us about Loss, Love and Healing, will be published by Basic. She sys, "It's co-written with leading child trauma expert Bruce Perry, MD, PhD, and looks at how trauma affects the developing brain and personality and what can be done to help affected children. Dr. Perry does amazing work-- and his case histories illustrate why kind, patient and loving attention is absolutely imperative in helping troubled children and how coercive therapies do damage. "

ages 12, 10, 7 - diagnosed with anorexia

This article by Deborah Haynes for Reuters raises awareness on how young children can get caught up with eating disorders. Body issues aren't just for teens and adults anymore. We're well aware that obesity is rampant in toddlers and children, so this shouldn't be a total shock.

If nothing else, please take away from this news item the idea that it can be a life-and-death powderkeg to say anything to anyone about their body.

I'm especially sensitive to this as a trainer. I've watched too many people plummet into self-destructive cycles because of an offhand remark from someone who wasn't even trying to be mean. Something that seems obvious to one person about another's physique may not be that person's reality or desire. It may be his or her demon.

No matter how well-meaning or casual the comment, if you don't know the person well, my advice is stop and hold your tongue. There's just no good reason to remark on how thin, thick, skinny or fat a person is. You have no idea how your comment may be taken and what may come of it.

Ambrea Phillips kicked out of HS weightlifting class in case of rape

Wow, this is one for the books.

Judge to decide if dismissal of student justified

By Jamie Satterfield, Knox News

A federal magistrate judge is being asked to toss out a lawsuit filed on behalf of an Anderson County teenager temporarily booted from a weightlifting class because of a principal's fears that she might be raped by male classmates.

Attorney Arthur F. Knight III argued at a hearing in U.S. District Court Thursday that Ambrea Phillips may have suffered a bit of stress but little else when, in January, then-Anderson County High School Principal Bob McCracken removed her from a weightlifting class.

"There's no dispute she was removed," Knight said. "There's no dispute she was returned (three days later). The really dispositive issue is, did Anderson County appropriately respond. She had no academic detriment whatsoever."

Phillips' attorney, Roger L. Ridenour, disagreed, arguing that her stress was so great that she wound up physically sick. Phillips is suing for up to $1 million.

He also contended that Anderson County school administrators have a pattern of mishandling issues of sex, whether it be an alleged "open notorious affair" between an ex-principal and a secretary or claims of an inappropriate e-mail exchange between an assistant volleyball coach and a player.

"Your Honor, this is at best a case that ought to be heard by a jury," Ridenour said.

...After Phillips was kicked out of the class, her father contacted the media. Three days later, McCracken allowed her back in the class. She and her dad filed suit anyway.

Phillips was a senior, a straight-A student and a track team member when she signed up for the class. Knight noted that she only missed three days of the class, completed it with no complaints or problems, and earned an A. She has since graduated and attends college.

model dies from anorexia

To the powers that be in the model and image industries, who keep these ideals going, publicly deny there is any problem, and fight reform tooth-and-nail: Shame, Shame, Shame.

21-year-old Ana Carolina Reston weighed 88 pounds

Reuters, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil - The mother of a Brazilian fashion model who died from complications of anorexia has made an emotional appeal for parents to take better care of aspiring young models.

The death of Ana Carolina Reston, 21, follows growing criticism of the use of underweight models in the fashion world, an issue given new significance after the death in August of Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos of heart failure during a fashion show in Montevideo.

Reston died on Tuesday in a Sao Paulo hospital from a generalized infection caused by anorexia, an eating disorder in which sufferers obsessively deprive themselves of food in pursuit of an ultra-slim look.

Reston weighed only 88 pounds (40 kg) and was about 5 feet 8 inches tall (1.72 meters) tall. Doctors consider this weight normal for a 12-year-old girl no more than about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall.

...“Dictatorship of skinny look kills a model,” said the front-page headline of O Dia tabloid, which carried a picture of the dark-haired, big-eyed girl in lingerie....

Thin - film and campaign by Laura Greenfield

An important documentary will premiere on HBO tonight: Thin, as in dying to be, through anorexia and bulimia. Besides the film, Loren is raising a steady body of provocative imagery on females and body image; check out her photos on her site, and books on girl culture.

From HBO:
"Eating disorders affect five million people in the U.S., and more than 10% of those diagnosed with anorexia nervosa will die from the disease. Seeking to put a human face on these sobering statistics, acclaimed photographer Lauren Greenfield went inside a Florida treatment center to tell the stories of four women who are literally dying to be thin. The devastating HBO documentary THIN reveals what she found there - and explores the issues underlying their illness. Premieres Tuesday, November 14 at 9pm.

THIN is the centerpiece of a multi-faceted campaign designed to explore issues surrounding body image and eating disorders, including a companion book, traveling exhibition of Greenfield's work and a website. An educational resource guide for the documentary THIN has also been developed to accompany the film for use by individuals, educators and community groups nationwide. It will reach approximately two million high school students and 15,000 college professors directly with a downloadable guide available online. For more on the THIN campaign - the book, exhibit, educational guide and DVD - visit hbo.com or thindocumentary.com."

The crime of being a teenager

ISAC just published my article on the troubled-teen industry. It's an introductory overview of the issue and its history, drawing on many of the top exposes on the subject.

Go to the newsroom - up-to-date alarming news on this alarming topic - and scroll to it, or click here - The crime of being a teenager.

Intro

The next time you see a teenager walking down the street, perhaps wearing black, baggy pants, with some faddish hairstyle, know that this person could disappear overnight. There is an aggressive industry trying to find his parents. They want to tell them that their child might be in danger. If that teen is hanging out with people the parents don’t approve of; if he seems sullen or defiant, has “entitlement issues” or “mood disorders”; if he hasn’t been arrested, diagnosed with emotional problems, substance addiction, or received any form of therapy, yet he’s experimenting with drugs or alcohol, dating, lying, shoplifting, running away, having sex; or if he hasn’t done any of these things, but he just hasn’t been right since his molestation or since a loved one died… they want to tell his parents that this boy may be on the road to destruction. And they want to tell them that they can help.

This is the troubled-teen industry — residential treatment programs, wilderness therapy, boot camps and similar "tough love" programs using thought coercion to modify the behavior of juveniles. Marketers are cashing in on troubled parents, offering a solution that sounds too good to be true – pay to have someone take the child away, fix him, and return him – respectful and compliant.

In its present state, the unregulated troubled-teen industry is a dangerous breeding ground for corruption and abuse. Allegations of abuse, neglect and deaths are increasingly being brought to court. Teen Advocates USA counts 74 program-related deaths of juveniles since 1980.

This billion-dollar industry profits by persuading parents to pay for the kidnapping and captivation of juveniles. While it is difficult to obtain accurate figures for an unregulated industry, most sources estimate that 10,000 to 20,000 teenagers are in behavior modification programs this year. Programs typically charge $3,000 to $5,000 a month, with emphasis on retaining a child until the staff decides she should be released.

see also lonesouls.org
image by permission from Monty Lapica's new film Self-Medicated

New Film: Self-Medicated

Monty Lapica is winning major award after major award for his debut film Self-Medicated. This could become the flagship film of the troubled-teen industry, a Coolhand Luke for children of the '90s. After his father died, his mother hired a company to abduct him and place him in a lockdown psychiatric treatment center for troubled youth. The staff was corrupt, the ordeal horrible - but he orchestrated an escape. That's all I know, all from the many raving reviews on the film, which is currently touring this country and abroad, attracting awards like a magnet. If you're in a major city, check the site - you may get to see it before the rest of us waiting for the DVD to be released. The website for the film is powerful and enigmatic in itself, and probably gives you a real good idea of what you're in for. I can't wait to see it.

Martin Lee Anderson - poem

On the videotape of Martin Lee Anderson

January 6, 2006.
It was a private hour.
One unacceptable black boy,
an irritant on your skin
you scratched
‘til blood rose in its place.
It seemed so safe,
taking care of business.
One young voice silenced
at the circle of understanding.
No sass, no looks, no memory, no future.

Then a videotape
flared up like a phantom,
your secret hour looping, never ceasing,
never paling into the shadow of the past.
He won’t go down.

Each blow, each collapse, each prop
onto the human crucifix.
The wrist, the arm. Tighter. Harder.
Blow after blow after blow.
White coat checks for life.
Grown fists pound out the last soggy light.
The eyes of the world are watching now.
Justice itself rising out of the grave
to level its jet eyes at you.
He won’t go down.

Historians are standing by.
Coroners, legislators, the law
snapped awake and stuck staring,
politicians choking at the camera,
money waiting to change hands,
keys hanging ready to fast cars
and iron doors.

But the mothers, and the fathers,
the poets, the imprisoned,
the scrubbing workers,
soldiers, lovers, homeboys,
the young already taut and trapped,
they watch your private hour.

Every person you’ve known
or brushed against,
kissed or sneered,
and those who might never have known your names…
They see for themselves.
And they judge.

He won’t go down.
And it cannot be undone.

- Kat Ricker
also at Lone Souls, the site showcasing art on the troubled teen industry theme



emergency chopper at Smith Rock, taken by me

Lone souls - advocacy art project: troubled-teen industry

Here's a dubious American distinction - the troubled-teen industry. Sorry for the downer, as I strive to uplift at the Mighty Mix, but this issue deeply disturbs me, and there just isn't enough noise about it. These programs violate basic human rights, which means they are inherently wrong. Teen Advocates USA counts 71 deaths since 1980. With the recent release of the Florida teen IMO obviously beaten to death, I'm linking to Lone souls:

"This site is dedicated to the victims of involuntary behavior modification programs - wilderness therapy, boot camps, residential treatment facilities - programs based on persuading parents to pay for the kidnapping and captivation of juveniles in order to reform them through "tough love" measures. Survivors and anyone so moved are welcome to submit creative work - poems, essays, drawings, photos, whatever." Lone souls

Maia Szalavitz is about to release her investigative expose on this criminal industry, a book concept long overdue. You can preorder it from Amazon. Here's a bit from her, from Newcastle News.

"Some 10,000 to 20,000 teenagers are enrolled each year. A patchwork of lax and ineffective state regulations — no federal rules apply — is all that protects these young people from institutions that are regulated like ordinary boarding schools but that sometimes use more severe methods of restraint and isolation than psychiatric centers. There are no special qualifications required of the people who oversee such facilities. Nor is any diagnosis required before enrollment. If a parent thinks a child needs help and can pay the $3,000- to $5,000-a-month fees, any teen-ager can be held in a private program, with infrequent contact with the outside world, until he or she turns 18." - Maia Szalavitz.